On marketing.

Ddb Needham Back On-line, This Time With Digital, After Ibm Sign-off

On the heels of IBM and Microsoft tapping new agencies for a single corporate advertising voice, Digital Equipment Corp. on Wednesday picked DDB Needham Worldwide for its global branding effort.

The irony of DDB Needham's selection is that the agency and one of its sister Omnicom Group companies-Merkley Newman Harty-were dumped along with other shops by IBM in late May, when Big Blue consolidated its estimated $300 million global account with Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.

The result for Needham: an estimated $90 million in worldwide billing for Digital for a variety of corporate and/or product messages, a nice win indeed. DDB Needham's New York office will be primarily involved in the account.

DDB Needham and Lowe/SMS, a unit of Interpublic Group of Companies, were the finalists for Digital after the client pared the list from 30 agencies.

Even though Digital tapped DDB Needham as its lead creative agency (it also will have media responsibility), Young & Rubicam in New York continues for the client's PC business unit in this country, a $20 million to $30 million account. Digital wanted to keep the PC business separate from the global competition, and Y&R wasn't allowed to participate.

With Big Blue, the Paris office of DDB Needham had been responsible for advertising of the IBM personal computer business in the European market, for what was supposed to be a $50 million account. Merkley Newman had responsibility for the same client's U.S. advertising, perhaps another $20 million to $40 million account. Both agencies had been with IBM less than six months before the client unloaded its bombshell in May.

However, the purported billing from IBM never materialized, by a long shot, and no doubt DDB Needham will find much better fortune with Digital. Which proves that losers can be winners.

Borden-Jays deal: As expected, Borden Inc.'s sale of its Jays Foods unit will be formally announced Thursday at a press conference at Jays' headquarters-plant on Chicago's Far South Side. New investors are headed by Leonard Japp Jr., who with other members of the Japp family sold Jays to Borden in 1986. City officials and members of the Economic Development Commission also are expected to attend. Jays' new management team is headed by Leonard Japp Jr., who will be CEO, and Thomas Howe, president, sources report. Howe is former president of Butterball Turkey Co., a unit of ConAgra's Armour-Swift-Eckrich operation. Japp's father, Leonard Sr., is one of the investors. The new management team is said to be down to two ad agencies to help relaunch the company. Jays has been doing its advertising internally, assisted by parent Borden. Jays last year spent slightly less than $1 million for media advertising, according to Competitive Media Reporting. Jays already has signed on Omnicom Group's Porter/Novelli Chicago office for public relations.

- Mark Pacchini and Mark Modesto, both VPs at Foote, Cone & Belding Advertising Chicago, were promoted to group account directors on client S.C. Johnson. The promotions split up overall responsibility for the S.C. Johnson account that recently was managed by Paul Vernon, who, as previously reported, becomes general manager of Eisaman, Johns & Laws Advertising in Houston in early October. Pacchini, who had worked on the Johnson account, now heads up its personal-care and corporate (image or multiproduct) business, as well as serving as worldwide account director on the client's insect-control products. Modesto will oversee Johnson's home-care and air-care products. He'll also continue to work with FCB's Impact sales promotion unit.

Separately, FCB won't fill the post of media director of FCB North America that was held by Fred Wray, who was promoted to executive VP and worldwide media director of Foote, Cone & Belding Communications.

Music talent Gladys Knight is going to bat for Quaker Oats' Aunt Jemima brands. She's been signed on for a series of TV spots produced by Manhattan agency Jordan, McGrath, Case & Taylor. The campaign has a "Now You're Cookin' " tagline, and Knight, who turned 50 in May, will be featured with her grandchildren, ranging in age from 18 months to 9 years.

Omnicom Group's Frank J. Corbett Inc., a Chicago-based agency specializing in health-care communications, is changing its name, the new banner to be unveiled Sept. 6. Corbett, founded in 1961, was acquired in 1972 by BBDO, now one of Omnicom's principal agencies. Corbett, 1994 capitalized billing estimated at $90 million, now is part of Omnicom's health and medical communications group.